System and method for item inquiry and information presentation via standard communication paths

ABSTRACT

A method and system is provided for item inquiry and information presentation via standard communication paths. More particularly, the method and system detects an item associated with an avatar of a virtual universe (VU) user in a VU and determine information associated with the item. Additionally, the method and system are operable to display the information in the VU in a high-resolution component of the VU.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based virtualuniverses, and more specifically, to a method and system for iteminquiry and information presentation via standard communication paths.

BACKGROUND

Virtual universes (VUs) are rapidly becoming a popular part of today'sculture. A VU is a computer-based simulated environment. Many VUs arerepresented using 3-D graphics and landscapes, and are populated by manythousands of users, known as “residents”. Often, the VU resembles thereal world such as in terms of physics, places, and landscapes.

VUs are also known as metaverses and “3D Internet.” Some example VUsinclude: SECOND LIFE™, ENTROPIA UNIVERSE®, THE SIMS ONLINE™ andTHERE™—as well as massively multiplayer online games such as EVERQUEST®,ULTIMA ONLINE™, LINEAGE® and WORLD OF WARCRAFT®. (SECOND LIFE is atrademark of Linden Research, Inc. in the United States and/or othercountries. ENTROPIA UNIVERSE is a registered trademark of MindArk PE ABin the United States, other countries, or both. THE SIMS ONLINE andULTIMA ONLINE are trademarks of Electronic Arts, Inc. in the UnitedStates, other countries, or both. THERE is a trademark of MakenaTechnologies, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.EVERQUEST is a registered trademark of Sony Corporation of America, Inc.in the United States, other countries, or both. LINEAGE is a registeredtrademark of NCsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries,or both. WORLD OF WARCRAFT is a registered trademark of BlizzardEntertainment, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both.)

A VU is intended for its residents to traverse, inhabit, and interactthrough the use of avatars. In operation, user(s) control the avatar(s).An avatar is a graphical representation selected by the user, oftentaking the form of a cartoon-like human or other figure. The user'saccount, upon which the user can build an avatar, is tied to aninventory of assets the user owns, such as, for example, clothing,weapons, artwork, furniture, virtual pets, houses, virtual vehicles, andlandmarks, amongst other assets. A region is a virtual area of landwithin the VU, typically residing on a server's central processing unit(CPU). A user context includes a very broad range of attributes thatdescribe the user, and which are relevant to their behavioral, searchand other informational needs.

The data representation of an object or item in the VU is stored asinformation, e.g., as data or metadata. The object may be created by anobject creator, e.g., a VU manager, a user, etc. In some VUs, largerobjects are constructed of smaller objects, termed “prims” for primitiveobjects. These “prims” usually include boxes, prisms, spheres,cylinders, tori, tubes and/or rings. The “prims” may be rearranged,resized, rotated, twisted, tapered, dimpled and linked to create largercomposite objects. The creator of such an object may then map a textureor multiple textures to the object. Texture mapping is a method ofadding detail, surface texture, or color to a computer-generated graphicor 3D model. When the object is to be rendered, this information istransmitted from the VU server to the client.

An inventory of assets comprises objects or items associated with theuser's individual avatar or placed by them on virtual land they own oron public land. Such objects or items may have been created by theresident from prims, purchased, or obtained for free. Examples ofobjects include clothing, weapons, artwork, furniture, virtual pets,houses, virtual vehicles, and landmarks, amongst other objects. Assets,avatar(s), the environment, and everything else visually represented inthe VU each comprise universally unique identifiers (UUIDs) (tied togeometric data distributed to user(s) as textual coordinates), textures(distributed to user(s) as graphics files), and effects data (renderedby the user's client according to the user's preference(s) and user'sdevice capabilities).

Artifacts, which may be referred to as items or assets, may be used asfashion items or may provide the avatar with additional capabilities.Artifacts may be purchased, obtained as gifts, or obtained as a resultof specific quests depending on the rules governing the VU. Furthermore,it is common to allow avatars to exchange artifacts either for free oras a result of a monetary transaction. Certain artifacts are highlyprized, for example, because they enable specific functionality, orbecause they are fashionable. For example, there are individuals whodesign clothes to be worn by avatars. It is considered a virtual artform to design a piece of clothing that is attractive in low-resolutionVUs.

Avatars typically interact in the VU using the known chat-room andinstant message technology. In one aspect, to mimic the behavior of reallife, when an avatar “speaks”, a text window appears on the userinterface of the other avatars who are within “hearing range” (hearingrange may vary depending on whether an avatar “speaks” normally,“whispers”, or “shouts”).

In the real world, a common form of advertising and marketing consistsof distributing merchandise with company logos and/or names, slogans,etc. Such artifacts may include, for example, hats, T-shirts, mugs,pens, toys, etc.

However, the limited rendering capabilities of current VUs prevents thisform of advertising/marketing from being effectively used in a VU. Thatis, presently, due to restricted computational capacity and networkingresources, VUs render simplified versions of objects often elidinggraphical details. Moreover, as a result of current limitations ofgraphics hardware and software, 3-D graphics representations with 2-Dtextures mapped onto the surfaces of 3-D objects often do not havesufficient detail and clarity. Additionally, even with excellentgraphics, users often are not able to read small-sized text on movingobjects under typical lighting and viewing conditions, and when the textmay be obscured by intervening objects. Avatars generally have onlyprominent features rendered resulting in a cartoon-like appearance.Additionally, an avatar's wearable or otherwise portable artifacts, suchas clothing, hats, jewels, bags, etcetera, often receive simplifiedrendering. Due to the rendering restrictions of VUs, it is difficult toadvertise and market products in a virtual universe by placement oflogos, slogans and company names on items that are either on or with anavatar.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect of the invention, a method is implemented in acomputer infrastructure having computer executable code. The methodcomprises detecting an item associated with an avatar of a virtualuniverse (VU) user in a VU and determining information associated withthe item. Additionally, the method comprises displaying the informationin the VU in a high-resolution component of the VU.

In another aspect of the invention, a system comprises a virtualuniverse (VU) monitoring tool configured to detect an item associatedwith an avatar of a VU user in a VU and determine promotionalinformation associated with the item. Additionally, the system comprisesa display tool configured to display the promotional information in theVU in a high-resolution component of the VU.

In an additional aspect of the invention, a computer program productcomprising a computer usable storage medium having readable program codeembodied in the medium is provided. The computer program productincludes at least one component to detect an item associated with anavatar of a virtual universe (VU) user in a VU and determine if theavatar is currently using the item. Additionally, the at least onecomponent is configured to determine information associated with theitem and display the information in the VU in a high-resolutioncomponent of the VU, wherein the item associated with an avatar is anitem contained in the user's inventory.

In a further aspect of the invention, a method comprises providing acomputer infrastructure operable to detect an item associated with anavatar of a virtual universe (VU) user in a VU and determine informationassociated with the item. Additionally, the computer infrastructure isoperable to display the information in the VU in a high-resolutioncomponent of the VU, wherein the high-resolution component of the VUcomprises at least one of: a chat window, a bubble window, a graphicaluser interface (GUI) status bar, a GUI title bar, a map window and anaudio output device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment for implementing the steps inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary chat window enhancement in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 2B shows an additional exemplary chat window enhancement inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary bubble window enhancement in accordance withthe invention;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary status bar enhancement in accordance with theinvention; and

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flow chart of steps for implementing aspects ofthe invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to computer-based virtualuniverses, and more particularly, to a method and system for iteminquiry and information presentation via standard communication paths.More specifically, the present invention is related to a system andmethod for displaying information associated with artifacts, e.g., itemsworn or carried by avatars, by clearly rendering relevant informationthrough a plurality of methods including, for example, display in a chatwindow, under a multitude of circumstances, and through prescribedtriggers. The present invention enables, for example, logo/text and/orslogan advertising and marketing within a VU. Also, the presentinvention surmounts the limited rendering resolution of a VU to enablecompany names, logos, or promotional slogans associated with theartifacts to be clearly visible within the VU. The present invention mayalso be used to provide information associated with artifacts that arenot currently visible or in view.

The present invention enables advertising in virtual universe bydescribing methods and systems in which promotional wearable artifactsare clearly displayed to other avatars, e.g., in high-resolution. Thisenhancement creates brand awareness, which is valuable to companies thatdistribute virtual goods. Furthermore, a VU operator or service providermay increase revenue by charging a fee for using this service. Finally,some virtual objects may be valuable or limited and users may wishothers to know which brands they have purchased.

By implementing the present invention, a creator, distributor, or sellerof an item (e.g., avatar clothing) may derive additional revenue fromclear renderings of logos, slogans, and company names on VU items. Usersmay also enhance brand awareness through enhanced renderings. Thedisplay of such information in a chat window (e.g., conversation orinstant message window) may have particular utility in that the chatwindow is a user-interface element that already exists and with whichusers are familiar, and a chat window typically displays clear andeasy-to-read text. Moreover, a user's attention is often focused on thechat window area, and thus, any information presented there is likely tobe seen by a user. Finally, employing a chat window for promotional textresults in the promotional text being sequestered to a region of thescreen not likely to interfere with the viewing of the primary graphicalcontent of the VU, which might otherwise be obscured with numerous textlabels.

Additionally, it should be noted that trends towards both increasinglypowerful simulation engines and client-side graphics cards may improveVU rendering. However, the invention contemplates that VU access may beachieved through mobile devices and other non-conventional (often lowerresolution) platforms, which would benefit from the present invention.

System Environment

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present inventionmay be embodied as a system, method or computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present invention may take the form of a computer program productembodied in any tangible medium of expression having computer-usableprogram code embodied in the medium.

Any combination of one or more computer usable or computer readablemedium(s) may be utilized. The computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer-readable medium would include the following:

-   -   an electrical connection having one or more wires,    -   a portable computer diskette,    -   a hard disk,    -   a random access memory (RAM),    -   a read-only memory (ROM),    -   an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash        memory),    -   an optical fiber,    -   a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM),    -   an optical storage device,    -   a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an        intranet, or    -   a magnetic storage device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper oranother suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as theprogram can be electronically captured, via, for instance, opticalscanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, orotherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then storedin a computer memory.

In the context of this document, a computer-usable or computer-readablemedium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The computer-usablemedium may include a propagated data signal with the computer-usableprogram code embodied therewith, either in baseband or as part of acarrier wave. The computer usable program code may be transmitted usingany appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline,optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object oriented programming language such asJava, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely onthe remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remotecomputer may be connected to the user's computer through any type ofnetwork. This may include, for example, a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative environment 10 for managing the processesin accordance with the invention. To this extent, the environment 10includes a computer infrastructure 12 that can perform the processesdescribed herein using a computing device 14. The computing device 14includes a VU monitoring tool 30, a display tool 35 and a remunerationtool 40. These tools are operable to facilitate a detection of itempromotional information, determination of available high-resolutioncomponents, conflict resolution, promotional information display andremuneration, e.g., the processes described herein.

The computing device 14 includes a processor 20, a memory 22A, aninput/output (I/O) interface 24, and a bus 26. The memory 22A caninclude local memory employed during actual execution of program code,bulk storage, and cache memories which provide temporary storage of atleast some program code in order to reduce the number of times code mustbe retrieved from bulk storage during execution.

Further, the computing device 14 is in communication with an externalI/O device/resource 28. The I/O device 28 can interact with thecomputing device 14 or any device that enables the computing device 14to communicate with one or more other computing devices using any typeof communications link. The external I/O device/resource 28 may bekeyboards, displays, pointing devices, etc. Additionally, inembodiments, the computing device 14 includes a storage system 22B.

The processor 20 executes computer program code (e.g., program control44) processes on computer media, which is stored in memory 22A and/orstorage system 22B. While executing computer program code, the processor20 can read and/or write data to/from memory 22A, storage system 22B,and/or I/O interface 24. The bus 26 provides a communications linkbetween each of the components in the computing device 14.

The computing device 14 can comprise any general purpose computingarticle of manufacture capable of executing computer program codeinstalled thereon (e.g., a personal computer, server, handheld device,etc.). However, it is understood that the computing device 14 is onlyrepresentative of various possible equivalent computing devices that mayperform the processes described herein. To this extent, in embodiments,the functionality provided by the computing device 14 can be implementedby a computing article of manufacture that includes any combination ofgeneral and/or specific purpose hardware and/or computer program code.In each embodiment, the program code and hardware can be created usingstandard programming and engineering techniques, respectively.

Similarly, the computer infrastructure 12 is only illustrative ofvarious types of computer infrastructures for implementing theinvention. For example, in embodiments, the computer infrastructure 12comprises two or more computing devices (e.g., a server cluster) thatcommunicate over any type of communications link, such as a network, ashared memory, or the like, to perform the processes described herein.Further, while performing the processes described herein, one or morecomputing devices in the computer infrastructure 12 can communicate withone or more other computing devices external to computer infrastructure12 using any type of communications link. The communications link cancomprise any combination of wired and/or wireless links; any combinationof one or more types of networks (e.g., the Internet, a wide areanetwork, a local area network, a virtual private network, etc.); and/orutilize any combination of transmission techniques and protocols.

In embodiments, the computer infrastructure 12 may communicate withanother computer infrastructure, which is operating the VU. However, theinvention contemplates that the computer infrastructure 12 may operatethe VU monitoring tool 30, the display tool 35 and the remuneration tool40, and operate the VU.

In embodiments, the invention provides a business method that performsthe steps of the invention on a subscription, advertising, and/or feebasis. That is, a service provider, such as a Solution Integrator, couldoffer to perform the processes described herein. In this case, theservice provider can create, maintain, deploy, support, etc., a computerinfrastructure that performs the process steps of the invention for oneor more customers. In return, the service provider can receive paymentfrom the customer(s) under a subscription and/or fee agreement and/orthe service provider can receive payment from the sale of advertisingcontent to one or more third parties.

Item Inquiry

According to aspects of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 30 maymonitor a user's items contained in their inventory, e.g., items andassets worn by a user, to detect which items contain promotionalinformation for display to other avatars. The VU monitoring tool 30 mayidentify those items associated with promotional information that may bedisplayed in high-resolution areas of the VU (or presented in audioformat). Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 30 may retrieve thepromotional information, for example, from a database, e.g., storagesystem 22B.

For example, organizations, e.g., businesses, may establish marketingawareness campaigns in a VU that may include giving away, e.g., clothingitems for avatars that are virtually embroidered with the organization'slogo. As a benefit or incentive for wearing the virtual clothing item,e.g., for a specified duration, the user may gain access to premiumareas of the VU. The relationship between the user and the item (withits associated promotional information), e.g., given to the user may bestored in a database (e.g., storage system 22B) or as metadata for theitem.

In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 30 may monitor which items areworn or used and which items are kept in an inventory of a user usingknown virtual universe rendering techniques. Additionally, the VUmonitoring tool 30 may determine which artifacts contain promotionalinformation through several potential methods.

With a first exemplary method, the representation of artifacts used bythe VU system may be extended to include promotional information. Forexample, if artifacts are described using an object-oriented language(e.g., Java, C++, etc.), this extension can include adding to the baseclass of the artifact objects a field to contain such promotionalinformation. Further, a VU database, e.g., storage system 22B, may becreated to associate object items with promotional information. Thepromotional information may include UUIDs of company logos, the name ofthe company or a company slogan, amongst other promotional information.Database retrieval procedures known in the art may be used to detect ifan item has associated promotional information, and to retrieve thatassociated information. In embodiments, the items may be uniquelyindexed by the item UUID. Additionally, metadata may be included withthe item that describes the promotional characteristics of that item.Metadata may include, for example, the UUID of a company logo, a companylogo embedded in the metadata, or company text or promotional messages(visual and/or audible), amongst other metadata.

High-Resolution Component Detection

Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 30 may determine whichhigh-resolution components of a graphical user interface (GUI) areavailable for displaying the promotional information. Thesehigh-resolution components of the GUI may include, for example: a chatwindow used to communicate between users; a bubble window, or otherhigh-resolution component that displays the VU name of the user; and/ora status bar or title bar on the GUI, or similar GUI regions capable ofdisplaying regular text or graphical information.

The VU monitoring tool 30 may identify all available high-resolution GUIcomponents, and their respective capabilities. For example, certainhigh-resolution components may only display text, while other componentsmay display both text and graphics. Additionally, some components mayprovide audio output. Furthermore, some high-resolution components mayhave limitations on the length of the text they can display, etc.According to an aspect of the invention, using normal renderingprocedures the VU monitoring tool 30 may ascertain which high-resolutioncomponents are available, such as a chat window, a bubble window, a GUIstatus bar or audio output, and their respective capabilities.

In embodiments, the present invention may be used with a variety of enddevices (i.e., the devices used to view the VU), e.g., a personalcomputer, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellphone, amongst other devices. According to the invention, the VUmonitoring tool 30 may detect what type of end device is being used toview the VU. In embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 30 may use a filterthat adjusts the same content appropriately for a particular end device.For example, if a user was traversing the VU via a PDA, the PDA mayprovide less resolution as compared to a personal computer. Thus, the VUmonitoring tool 30 may determine, for example, that lower-resolutioninformation presentation, e.g., text in a status bar, may be appropriatefor displaying the promotional material on the end user's PDA.Additionally, for example, large logos or large amounts of text may notbe appropriate for display in the chat text window next to a user'sname, as chat text window medium may only provide one line for displayof the promotional material.

Information Presentation

According to further aspects of the invention, the display tool 35 mayuse one or more high-resolution components to display the promotionalinformation associated with the user's item. For example, the displaytool 35 may use one or more of a chat window, a bubble window, a GUIstatus bar or title bar, and an audio output component to display, e.g.,visually or audibly, the promotional information associated with theuser's item. Information that may be presented may include a companylogo, a company name, a company slogan, a company jingle, productinformation, clothing information, avatar feature information, and a weblink, amongst other information. In embodiments, the display tool 35 maymatch the promotional characteristics of the item with the renderingcapabilities for the area. Such matching may be done with technologyknown in the art of computational matching algorithms.

1. Avatar Chat Window Enhancement

Presently, when a user enters into a chat session with another party ina VU, the name of the user appears in the chat area before the textallowing other users to identify the party talking. It is common for thename of the user to appear in different font or color, so that it iseasy to follow a multi-party conversation.

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary avatar chat window enhancement according toan aspect of the invention. As shown in FIG. 2A, a screen shot 200displays a first avatar 205 (User 1) and a second avatar 210 (User 2).For example, FIG. 2A shows a screen shot as would be viewed on the firstavatar's 205 display. The second avatar 210 is wearing a promotionalitem 215, which may include low resolution text or images 217. As can beobserved in FIG. 2A, as the text or image 217 on the item 215 may below-resolution, it may be difficult for users of the VU to discern thetext or image 217.

FIG. 2A also shows a chat window 220, indicating that a chat has beeninitiated between the first avatar 205 and the second avatar 210. Thechat window 220 includes a text window 222, which displays the ongoingchat, a text entry window 240 which User 1 may use to enter text for thechat, and a send button 245, which is used to send the text entered inthe text entry window 240. Additionally, in embodiments, the chat window220 includes a high-resolution window 225 for displaying information,e.g., promotional material, associated with items of User 2.

According to aspects of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 30 maydetect the user's items with associated promotional material, e.g., hat215, and may store this detected information in a database, e.g.,storage system 22B. Additionally, the VU monitoring tool 30 may detect ausage of the item 215, e.g., placing the organization-provided clothingonto the avatar. When the VU monitoring tool 30 detects a usage of thepromotional item 215, when that avatar 210 (User 2) engages in a chat,the display tool 35 may provide promotional text and/or images in thechat window 220 of at least User 1's display, e.g., adjacent to the textwindow 222 in a high-resolution window 225 and/or next to the user'savatar name (e.g., User 2) 250 in the text window 222. In embodiments,the promotional text and/or images may include a company's name 230and/or a company's logo 235, amongst other promotional material.Additionally, the promotional text and/or images may include textstating, for example, “User 2 is wearing a hat from Company A.”

FIG. 2B shows an additional chat window enhancement embodiment, whereinthe promotional text and/or images 260 may be displayed in the textwindow 222 with a transparent effect. As shown in FIG. 2B thepromotional text and/or images 260 has a watermark-like effect, whichdoes not obscure the ongoing chat in the text window 222.

2. Bubble Window Enhancement

According to further aspects of the invention, a bubble window, e.g., ahigh-resolution rending bubble, may be used to display information,e.g., promotional information, within a VU. Bubble windows may beinstantiated, for example, by hovering an input device over an object torequest more information about the object.

For example, an avatar may purchase an expensive virtual hat. Such anitem may be expensive for a variety of reasons, including, for example,the number of hours needed by an artist to create a realistic look orthe number of hours needed to provide sophisticated behavioral scriptsor security features associated with the clothing artifact.Additionally, the hat item may contain metadata indicating the brandname should be rendered in high-resolution. Accordingly, the item ownermay enable the high-resolution rendering option for the item. Inembodiments, the VU monitoring tool 30 may detect the enabledhigh-resolution rendering option and may store this detected informationin a database, e.g., storage system 22B. Additionally, in embodiments, auser may not be given an option to display the promotional material.Rather, the promotional material may automatically be displayed basedon, e.g., an agreement entered when the item was acquired.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary bubble window enhancement according to anaspect of the invention. FIG. 3 shows a screen shot 300 of a display aswould be seen by a user of the first avatar 305 on the user's enddevice. Additionally, FIG. 3 shows a second avatar 310 wearing an item,e.g., a hat 315 containing promotional material 317. According to anaspect of the invention, another user, e.g., the first avatar 305 maysee the second avatar 310 and hover their input device pointer 335,e.g., mouse, over (or in proximity to) the second avatar 310 (or in someembodiments the item 315 of the second avatar 310) to receive moreinformation about the second avatar 310 (or the second avatar's item315). According to an aspect of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 30may detect this request for more information and may direct the displaytool 35 to display a high resolution bubble 320 containing, e.g., thename of the hat brand 325 and/or the hat brand's high resolution logo330.

3. Status Bar Enhancement

According to further aspects of the invention, a status bar on the GUIor similar GUI regions capable of displaying regular text or graphicalinformation, e.g., a title bar, may be used to display high-resolutioninformation, e.g., promotional information. Using the example providedabove, in embodiments, the VU monitoring tool 30 may detect a user'sitems associated with high-resolution information, e.g., promotionalinformation, and may store this detected information in a database,e.g., the storage system 22B.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary status bar enhancement according to an aspectof the invention. More specifically, FIG. 4 shows a screen shot 400 of adisplay as would be seen by a user of a first avatar 405 on the usersend device, e.g., a personal computer. Additionally, FIG. 4 shows asecond avatar 410 wearing an item, e.g., a hat 415, containing, e.g.,promotional material 417. Within the VU, the second avatar 410 maycommunicate with or approach the first avatar 405. According to anaspect of the invention, the VU monitoring tool 30 may detect thiscommunication or proximity and may direct the display tool 35 to displaythe high resolution promotional material in the status bar 425 on theGUI (or similar GUI regions capable of displaying regular test orgraphical information) within the display of the first user's (i.e., thecontroller of the first avatar 405) end device. In embodiments, thepromotional material may include a company's name 435 and/or a company'slogo 430.

4. Audio Enhancement

Additionally, when audio presentation of information becomes popular,the creator, distributor, or seller of an item (e.g. avatar clothing)may derive additional revenue from clear presentations, in the form ofaudio information, that is associated with virtual universe items. Usersmay also enhance brand awareness through enhanced audio information. Thesonification of such information in an audio output (e.g. the audioconversation between avatars) may have particular utility in that voiceconversation methodologies already exist and are methods with whichusers are familiar. Furthermore, an audio conversation may be easy tounderstand. Moreover, a user's attention is often focused on the audioconversation, and thus, any information presented in this format islikely to be focused on by a user. Finally, employing an audioconversation for promotional information results in the promotionalinformation being sequestered from the visual portion of a VU and is notlikely to interfere with the viewing of the primary graphical content,which might otherwise be obscured with numerous text labels.

Thus, in embodiments, the promotional information may include thesonification of such information in a voice conversation. For example, acompany name may be spoken (e.g., via known text-to-speech methods) atthe start or ending of an audio conversation, or during a mutual silenttime in the audio stream.

Conflict Resolution

In the event that an avatar has multiple promotional items, the displaytool 35 may employ a conflict resolution method to determine whichpromotional information (respectively associated with the multipleitems) will be displayed. In embodiments, the display tool 35 mayutilize one or more of a round robin resolution, a promotion perrendering resolution, a contract resolution and random presentationresolution, amongst other resolutions, to resolve the conflict.

With a round robin resolution, a round robin strategy is used to cyclethrough the alternative promotions. For example, if a user has two itemsassociated with two different companies, the display tool 35 mayalternate between displaying the associated promotional materialrespectively related to the two items.

With a promotion per rendering resolution, different promotions may bedisplayed through the different rendering methods. For example, if auser has two items associated with two different companies, the displaytool 35 may display the promotional information associated with thefirst item using a chat window enhancement and may display thepromotional information associated with the second item using a bubblewindow enhancement.

With a contract resolution, companies may bid for promotionalpreference. For example, companies which bid higher for a promotionalpreference may have their promotional information favored over thosecompanies who bid less. Additionally, companies may express preferenceson which high-resolution method should be used to display theinformation, and may contract a preference agreement with a VU provider.With a random presentation resolution, the presentation may bedetermined through a random grab of a semaphore, akin to the “timingraces” accompanying an Ethernet transmission by a host computer.

Remuneration

VU operators may charge companies for placing or attaching promotionalinformation to objects within a VU. In embodiments, companies may berequired to pay per unique avatar viewing of promotional information.Other embodiments may require the company to pay per unique promotionalobject within the VU. Furthermore, VU operators may create additionalrevenue by permitting preference contracts as described above.Additionally, promotional items may contain links to other regions ofthe virtual universe, such as a store, and in embodiments the VUoperators may charge companies for each “click” of the link.

Additionally, in embodiments, VU users may receive remuneration fordisplaying the promotional items. That is, while, as described above, VUusers may be motivated to use, e.g., wear, the promotional items for thebenefit those items may provide, e.g., access to special areas of theVU, the invention contemplates that VU users may be receive remuneration(e.g., currency, virtual currency, coupons, etc.) for displaying thepromotional items.

According to further aspects of the invention, the remuneration tool 40may be used to track the placement or attachment of promotionalinformation to objects within a VU and track instances of viewings ofthe promotional material. In embodiments, the remuneration tool 40 mayuse item UUIDs to track the items, and may store the trackinginformation in a database, e.g., storage system 22B. Additionally, inembodiments, the remuneration tool 40 may track instances of avatarsdisplaying the promotional items, e.g., by tracking the item UUIDs, toprovide remuneration to the user.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

In further embodiments, the promotional text and/or images may bedisplayed in a title bar or a dedicated window in a user interface.Additionally, while traversing a VU, a user may be provided with athrough-the-eyes-of-the-avatar perspective and the display may include amap of the VU. The invention contemplates that the promotional textand/or images may be placed on the map, e.g., in a transparent mannerand/or within the map window. Additionally, in embodiments, thepromotional text and/or images may only be displayed for a predeterminedperiod of time and may dissolve or fade away after the predeterminedperiod of time.

Further, while the invention has been described as invoking thepromotional information display when an avatar is using (e.g., wearingor holding) an item, the invention contemplates that the promotionalinformation display may be invoked if the avatar has the item in theirinventory without actually using the item.

Additionally, while the invention has been described using the VUmonitoring tool 30, the display tool 35 and the remuneration tool 40,the invention contemplates that any of the operations performed by theVU monitoring tool 30, the display tool 35 and the remuneration tool 40may be performed manually by a user (e.g., a VU manager, an advertiseror a service provider). For example, in embodiments, a VU manager maydetermine remuneration manually.

Flow Diagram

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary flow for performing aspects of the presentinvention. The steps of FIG. 5 may be implemented in the environment ofFIG. 1, for example. The flow diagram may equally represent a high-levelblock diagram of the invention. The flowchart and/or block diagram inFIG. 5 illustrates the architecture, functionality, and operation ofpossible implementations of systems, methods and computer programproducts according to various embodiments of the present invention. Inthis regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagram may representa module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or moreexecutable instructions for implementing the specified logicalfunction(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the figure. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. Each block of each flowchart, and combinationsof the flowchart illustrations can be implemented by special purposehardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructionsand/or software, as described above. Moreover, the steps of the flowdiagram may be implemented and executed from either a server, in aclient server relationship, or they may run on a user workstation withoperative information conveyed to the user workstation. In anembodiment, the software elements include firmware, resident software,microcode, etc.

Furthermore, the invention can take the form of a computer programproduct accessible from a computer-usable or computer-readable mediumproviding program code for use by or in connection with a computer orany instruction execution system. The software and/or computer programproduct can be implemented in the environment of FIG. 1. For thepurposes of this description, a computer-usable or computer readablemedium can be any apparatus that can contain, store, communicate,propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with theinstruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The medium can be anelectronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, orsemiconductor system (or apparatus or device) or a propagation medium.Examples of a computer-readable storage medium include a semiconductoror solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computer diskette, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a rigid magneticdisk and an optical disk. Current examples of optical disks includecompact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disc-read/write (CD-R/W)and DVD.

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary flow 500 for performing steps of theinvention. At step 505, the VU monitoring tool detects an item havingassociated promotional information in a avatar's inventory. At step 510,the VU monitoring tool determines if an avatar is using, e.g., wearingor holding an item having associated promotional material. It should beunderstood that step 510 is an optional step, as represented by thedashed lines. At step 515, the VU monitoring tool determines theavailability of high-resolution components for displaying thepromotional information. At step 520, the display tool may conduct aconflict resolution. It should be understood that step 520 is anoptional step, as represented by the dashed lines. At step 525, thedisplay tool directs the display of the promotional information. At step530, the remuneration tool performs a remuneration determination for,e.g., the VU provider and/or the VU user.

It should be understood, that while the steps have been described asoccurring in a particular order, the invention contemplates that thesteps may be performed in other orders. For example, step 505 (andoptional step 510) may occur after step 515. Furthermore, the inventioncontemplates that, in embodiments, steps may be implied or omitted whilestill remaining true to this invention.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims, if applicable, areintended to include any structure, material, or act for performing thefunction in combination with other claimed elements as specificallyclaimed. The description of the present invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to beexhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Accordingly, while the invention has beendescribed in terms of embodiments, those of skill in the art willrecognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications and inthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method implemented in a computer infrastructurehaving computer executable code tangibly embodied on a computer readablemedium, comprising: determining first and second branding informationassociated with an item of an avatar of a user within a virtual universe(VU); determining an availability and capability of available componentswhich render within the VU the first and second branding information;displaying, after the determining the availability, the first and secondbranding information using a first component of the available componentsfor the first branding information and using a second component of theavailable components for the second branding information based ondetermined respective capabilities of the available components of theVU; outputting audio information which corresponds to the first andsecond branding information using a text-to-speech algorithm; afterdisplaying the first and second branding information for a specifiedduration, in response to displaying the first and second brandinginformation for the specified duration, providing access to other areaswithin the VU to display the first and second branding information;determining that an input device pointer is hovering over the item ofthe avatar; and displaying a bubble comprising the first and secondbranding information in response to determining that the input devicepointer is hovering over the item of the avatar, wherein the audioinformation includes the first and second branding information which isoutput at a beginning of a voice conversation, and the first brandinginformation comprises a company name and the second branding informationcomprises a company logo, and the first component comprises a first GUIstatus bar which displays the first branding information comprising thecompany name and the second component comprises a second GUI status barwhich displays the second branding information comprising the companylogo.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first component and thesecond component further comprise at least one of: a window; and a GUItitle bar.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining ifthe avatar is currently using the item.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the item associated with the avatar comprises an item containedin an inventory of the user.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the itemcomprises metadata indicating the first and second branding informationassociated with the item that is to be rendered in the VU.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first and second branding information isautomatically accessed from a database.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the first and second branding information is displayed on an enddevice of a second user in response to the second user requestingfurther information via an input device.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the item is not in view.
 9. A system having a processor and amemory, the system comprising: a virtual universe (VU) monitoring toolconfigured to: determine first and second branding informationassociated with items of an avatar of a VU user in a VU; determining anavailability and respective capabilities of components which displayswithin the VU the first and second branding information; a display toolconfigured to display the first and second branding information in theVU using a first component of the available components for the firstbranding information and using a second component of the availablecomponents for the second branding information based on determinedrespective capabilities of the available components of the VU; outputaudio information which corresponds to the first and second brandinginformation using a text-to-speech algorithm; after displaying the firstand second branding information for a specified duration, in response todisplaying the first and second branding information for the specifiedduration, provide access to other areas within the VU to display thefirst and second branding information; determine that an input devicepointer is hovering over the item of the avatar; and display a bubblecomprising the first and second branding information in response todetermining that the input device pointer is hovering over the item ofthe avatar, wherein the audio information includes the first and secondbranding information which is output at a beginning of a voiceconversation using the text-to-speech algorithm, and the first brandinginformation comprises a company name and the second branding informationcomprises a company logo, and the first component comprises a first GUIstatus bar which displays the first branding information comprising thecompany name and the second component comprises a second GUI status barwhich displays the second branding information comprising the companylogo, and the processor contains instructions to run the VU monitoringtool and the display tool.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the firstcomponent and the second component of the VU further comprises at leastone of: a map; a window; and the first and second components aredifferent.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the first and secondbranding information further comprises at least one of: a companyslogan; a company jingle; and a web link.